Blog | HemaCare

In an independent study recently published by Pfizer, [1] natural killer (NK) immune cells sourced from HemaCare were evaluated to test how well suited they are for use in cytotoxic activity assays.

These last few years have seen the successful clinical development of several monoclonal antibody-based treatments for cancer and inflammatory disease. These antibodies are designed to act in a number of different ways, from tagging target cells so they can be recognized by the immune system, to blocking growth or metastasis, to attacking problematic cells themselves. Monoclonal antibodies (m’Abs) are seen as particularly beneficial because they can be used to complement more traditional therapies and because their use generally results in fewer side effects.

A leading immunotherapeutic approach to treating cancer involves the use of checkpoint inhibitors. Immune checkpoints are proteins expressed on T cells and are essential for the self-tolerance needed to prevent autoimmunity. When T-cell checkpoint molecules bind to its ligand on cells, the targeted cell is not harmed. These checkpoints are often exploited by tumor cells by possessing checkpoint molecules such as PD-L1 and impeding the immune system’s ability to initiate and carry out an immune attack on the tumor.

Natural killer (NK) cells are lymphocytes of the innate immune system and are important in controlling tumors and infections without depending on the recognition of specific antigens. The activation of NK cells occur via NK cell receptor interactions, including the CD 16 (Fc-gamma) receptors that bind antibodies (eg. IgG) attached to pathogens and infected cells. The CD16 receptor is involved in antibody-dependent cellular cytotoxicity, a process associated with the effectiveness of antibody-based cancer immunotherapies.